


Weight

by adritae



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aangst, Angst, Bumi (mentioned) - Freeform, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, I'm weak for aang and sokka's friendship, Jet (mentioned) - Freeform, Katara (mentioned), Minor Character Death, No Romance, Post-War, Psychological Trauma, War, Yue (mentioned) - Freeform, Zuko (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26055094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adritae/pseuds/adritae
Summary: The war was over, so why wasn't the weight on Aang's chest lessening? Why did it grow as each person wrung his hand, as each person thanked him? It only worsened as he thought of everyone he could not save.Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo Prompt: Cry into Chest
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & The Gaang (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771621
Comments: 2
Kudos: 74
Collections: Bad Things Happen





	Weight

**Author's Note:**

> Random inspiration to write after being afk for months? Okay. Guess it will be angst!
> 
> This was written for the prompt "Cry into Chest" for badthingshappenbingo.tumblr.com. There will not be any romance in this story, only friendship and found family (Because I'm weak that's why).

The hours after the coronation were a whirlwind of music, dancing, and cheer. For Aang, it was person after person running up to him and wringing his hand, endless gratitude falling from the lips of people the Avatar had never seen before. There was practically a line of people that all wanted to shake hands with the Avatar, the reason it was over. Aang took each of the thanks with grace, making sure to appropriately credit his friends as well. He didn't want their contributions passed over just because he was the Avatar. The entire night turned into a blur of faces and words. It was all so… overwhelming.

Eventually, after having had his hand shaken by practically every person in the building, Aang was granted a reprieve. He excused himself, walking swiftly but calmly towards the grounds of the palace.

Taking a seat under a tree, he stared out across the pond, the moonlight shimmering on the water. He didn't realize until he had been sitting for almost ten minutes that his muscle were starting to ache.

It was odd. Even with Zuko now being his friend, and knowing that the people in the palace were no threat to him or his friends, he could not help but tense every time he saw the guards. Just a week before, those same guards would run him through with a spear if they could, but now they were protecting him and his friends. But, the weight on his shoulders that had been there since he found out about the comet remained.

All of the people in there, they all thanked him for ending the war. They thanked him for saving them. But, looking out at the moon's reflection shining on the water, he couldn't help but remember those he could not save.

He thought of Yue, who was a girl no older than 16 years of age, that sacrificed herself to save the moon. He thought of Jet, who made mistakes and let his anger blind him, but ultimately died fighting alongside Aang. He thought of Bumi, his old friend whose fiery eyes filled with adventure and excitement now dulled to a war-torn leader who had seen 100 years of violence, no matter how much he tried to hide it. The weight on his shoulders grew as he thought of every child whose parents had died due to the war, of every parent who had to bury a child taken from them too soon, and of every soldier who succumbed to the war before they had the chance to live a life of peace. For every person that thanked him, Aang thought of another that he couldn't save.

But perhaps what hurt most of all was when he thought of Monk Gyatso, and Monk Tashi, Jinju, and all of the other airbenders whose bloodshed was the catalyst for it all; Who he abandoned because he was terrified. It was hard to believe it had been 100 years since any of them took a breath, since any of them laughed or lived. The entire world seems to have moved on, but Aang knew he never could.

With each death on his conscience, the weight worsened and worsened. There was a constant pressure in his chest, causing him to curl in on himself. The weight was becoming unbearable.

He heard familiar footsteps behind him, and turned to see Sokka standing with his crutch, giving him a small smile.

"Hey," the water tribe warrior greeted, "You've been gone for a while, and I thought you got lost." Sokka laughed, and Aang forced a laugh with him.

He felt the eyes of his friend boring into him. Aang shifted uncomfortably. Sokka (along with Katara of course) were the only two people who could see right through him. One of the perks of traveling together for nearly a year, he supposed. He knew Sokka could see the weight pressing him to the ground, and Aang did not have the strength to hide the fatigue it caused him.

"Are you okay Aang?" Sokka's voice was careful, but concerned. A tan hand reached out to his shoulder as his brother in all but blood knelt next to him, and the contact broke him.

All of the weight he had been holding onto for months came crashing down in a matter of seconds. Before he knew it, he was sobbing, curling into himself even more and covering his mouth with his hand in a futile attempt to mask the sound. Sokka was shocked at the sudden change, but quickly recovered, pulling his best friend into a tight embrace, not caring about the wet patches forming quickly on his clothes. Aang cried into his chest, clutching at Sokka and pouring all of his heartache and fear out in a torrential wave of emotion. He cried for Yue and for Jet, whose lives he could not save. He cried for Bumi, whose eyes he could not save. He cried for his friends, whose childhoods he could not save. But most of all, Aang cried for the centuries-old culture wiped from the face of the Earth in the span of a day. He cried for every innocent child ripped from the world too soon, every animal slaughtered in a fiery blaze, and for every pacifist forced to fight for their lives in a battle they could not win. The air nomad charm around his neck was a heavy presence on his chest as he cried until his head swam.

For however long the two young boys sat there, clutching at each other as tears fell, the weight was pushing down on them both, grief and sorrow overpouring from them. Eventually, Aang grew dizzy from the sobbing, and lay hugging Sokka with his head on his chest. His breath grew shaky, and he did not have the energy to be embarrassed about breaking down in from of his friend.

Sokka's voice cut through, "I'm not going to ask you what happened, as I'm sure you would rather not talk about it tonight," an imperceptible nod against his chest, "But, you know you can talk to me at any time, right? I know I can be a bit tactless, but I really care about you, Aang."

The airbender looked up at Sokka, grey eyes rimmed with red and shining with tears. "You're my little brother, Aang. I love you."

The words brought more tears to his eyes as Aang buried himself back into his brother's chest. He knew the weight on his shoulders would never go away, not fully. But, he knew that there was nothing wrong with letting his friends help him carry it.


End file.
